Changes may offer parties a quick fix to gender quotas

With constituencies in general growing larger, parties will find it easier to implement gender quotas. But some areas will see unprecedented competition, writes Adrian Kavanagh

THE range of changes in the Constituency Commission report are probably the most dramatic to be seen since 1980, when the number of Dáil seats increased from 148 to 166.

The number of constituencies has been reduced by three (from 43 to 40), with four fewer three-seat constituencies and one more four-seat constituency increasing the average number of seats per Dáil constituency to 3.95, a higher level than that associated with the 2004 and 2007 reports.